Louver panel or some sort of deflector to protect 4x4 radiator from mud splash?

[rcx132]

Can I pick your brains for ideas?

I'm due to take my new build buggy for a field test soon. It's fitted with an expensive and exposed radiator as it's all still just tubes at the moment. We're in the south east where there's high clay content in the mud, it bakes onto radiators and they tend to be junk after a few off road sessions.

Would you share any ideas for protecting it? I've seen alu louver panels used to vent engine bays on race cars, they look good, but can't find any in the right size yet.

On my last car I would just cover the bottom half of the radiator and had a splash guard under it to stop upwards spatter. That would stop most but not all mud and I'd still need to replace the radiator every so often. Hoping to avoid that with this shiny radiator.

Ideal option will be to move the radiator to the back, but I've still got a lot of higher priority things to build on the buggy first. It'll be a while before I can move it.

 

[arther dailey]

yup, move it to the back from the get go, I used to do this on bangers ,piped to back seat . or put a scraficial one on for initial test runs

 

[Morrisman]

How about some heavy wire mesh, enough to stop the mass of the mud, rocks etc, and far enough from the rad that air can still circulate through the whole rad?

 

[Morrisman]

yup, move it to the back from the get go, I used to do this on bangers ,piped to back seat . or put a scraficial one on for initial test runs

I’ve done that on my trike project, more for weight and aesthetics than protection though. Plumbing will be via alloy pipes running underneath.

 

[Wildefalcon]

On the mesh idea, a double layer, coarse, followed by fine an inch away, at an angle, so the air flow is maxed.

 

[123hotchef]

move it to the back to start with gets my vote

 

[Erie Fred]

On the mesh idea, a double layer, coarse, followed by fine an inch away, at an angle, so the air flow is maxed.

Won't this get plugged ?
I suggest angled slats like the OP was thinking of louvers, but those don't seem open enough.
I can see slats about 1.5-2" wide set at a 45 degree angle.

 

[rtcosic]

Close spaced Disc and Donut (sic) baffle set?

 

[PhillipM]

Mesh will just get blocked. Move it to the right place to start with.

 

[gaz1]

at the rear or lay flat and pull air through the radiator

 

[500e]

If in back NO joints in driver compartment.
Saw that once first degree burns even through his overalls

 

[voipio]

Finely finned heat exchangers and environmental gunk don't go together well. A flat panel radiator would be more forgiving, though it would have to be relatively large. Weren't there some F1 cars using the bottom of the car for ground effect, but also exchanging heat? If a finned radiator is a must, then a labyrinth metalwork design could be put around the radiator, to allow air to pass, but not gunk, and would probably require fan assistance.

 

[arther dailey]

if you put it in the front temporarily 99% garauntee it will stay there..

 

[CompoSimmonite]

I assume the rad has an electric fan. Why not blank off the front completely and let the fan suck air from above ?

 

[gaz1]

you could use a vortex heat exchanger before your rads

the spinning of the water will throw the heat to the sides whilst the air travels inbetween one wall and another pulling in the air as it heats up

you can also add fins to the design as well to further transfer the heat as well

 

[rcx132]

I took a look at the layout yesterday to think about routing cooling to the rear. It will be a bit of a challenge, it's got very long suspension links that take up most of the undercarriage. I've also designed it for max suspension travel which means the suspension and links travel right up into the car as the suspension cycles. The rear will also contain the waffle boards, winch, tool box, tank, batteries etc.

I assume the rad has an electric fan. Why not blank off the front completely and let the fan suck air from above ?

I might give this a go, box it in and it could draw air through a vent in the bonnet? Seems a little surprising that other 4x4s don't do something like this?

 

[Cobbler]

If in back NO joints in driver compartment.
Saw that once first degree burns even through his overalls

Saw that as well in an Imp with a front mounted rad, needed skin grafts on his feet.

 

[PhillipM]

I might give this a go, box it in and it could draw air through a vent in the bonnet? Seems a little surprising that other 4x4s don't do something like this?

The few competition cars that have them in the front generally do, pull down from the bonnet, some even pull air forwards from a vent to try to avoid the mud but it compromises the airflow a lot, that's why you see most of the racers run rear rads.